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Quick question -- floating plants

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I want to add some kind of floating plant to my planted tank to dim the lighting. I've had duckweed before and really liked the look of it but my severums ate it faster than it could grow. I tried to get my hands on some frogbit but it's not available in NZ, due to it being a weed. So I was thinking either duckweed (Lemna minor), Riccia fluitans or Azolla rubra. Tips on which to get would be helpful.

Anyway... Will floating plants inhibit the growth of my other plants by restricting how much light they receive?

Also, are there any lily-pad type plants which will grow in an aquarium? Pardon my ignorance.

Duckweed grows fairly quickly, if fish are eating it faster than it's growing could try growing it a bin outdoors and keep adding into tank. Could try salvinia, it's like duckweed but even smaller, grows quickly. Frogbit is always nice, could try to get dwarf water lettuce, a little bigger than the frogbit. I would avoid riccia it's never been a quick grower for me. If you could get hornwort that grows fairly quickly, great at sucking up excess nutrients.

Originally Posted by ameliaaahx

Anyway... Will floating plants inhibit the growth of my other plants by restricting how much light they receive?

As long as the floating plant cover doesn't get too thick, the rest of the plants in your tank should be fine. Can always thin out the floating plants when it gets too numerous. I try to keep some dwarf water lettuce or frogbit in some of my tanks, a little bit of cover really helps the shyer fish feel a bit more secure in open water.

Any lotus or water lily will, given the opportunity and a tank not too deep, send up pads to the surface. Floating plants will seriously affect plants below. I have a tank with thriving frogbit that keeps nitrates at a consistent zero, and it blankets the entire 4.5 square feet of surface area every week or so, and I harvest about 2 square feet every three days. It affects the amount of light the rooted plants receive and thus, their growth rates. The effect is so pronounced I can use frogbit as a valve to control the growth of plants and algae below. If algae is strong and I accidentally overfeed, I let the frogbit grow and starve the algae. When the problem is over and the plants are stagnating then start harvesting again and so on.

Thanks for the replies. :) Many of the plants you mentioned I don't think are available here.

I think I'm going to go with duckweed. When it gets too numerous, I can move some of it to my 120g tank for the severums to munch on.

Oh if your putting the floating plant into a tank with fish that won't eat it, you could get red root floaters. Similar in size to frogbit but is reddish and has red roots as the name suggests. Looks very nice and adds a bit of color to the tank.

Yes I should have clarified -- this is for my 65g planted tank with tetras, cories, etc.

I've never heard of that plant Korith -- unfortunately a lot of plants you guys have aren't available here due to them being very damaging to native plants if they get into the streams and rivers. I really wanted Frogbit but couldn't find it. :(

I've never heard of that plant Korith -- unfortunately a lot of plants you guys have aren't available here due to them being very damaging to native plants if they get into the streams and rivers. I really wanted Frogbit but couldn't find it. :(

Looked up the actual name of red root floaters, it's phyllanthus fluitans. No idea how large the aquarium hobby is in nz but over here there are aquarium clubs in every state I think, a good source of obtaining plants.

Not that a know of, apart from duckweed. We DO have a native plant called Glossostigma Elatinoides, Dwarf Babies Tears which I think is quite popular in aquascaping. I have heard it can live as a floating plant, but that it is also very demanding to grow.